Conference Speakers

The Biology of Attachment Pains and Repair: For Ourselves & Our Children

This lecture explores the beautiful internal world of attachment, what happens when it goes wrong and the 6 attachment pains that can develop.

By understanding these attachment pains and how to recognize them, parents can become powerful agents of change. We’ll discuss practical strategies to address the primary pain.

This knowledge empowers parents to create environments where their children can feel safe enough and thrive. By recognizing and addressing attachment pains, we open doors to more secure attachments, improved emotional regulation, and healthier relationships. Remember, it’s never too late to start the journey of repair and connection and often, healing begins with us.

Trauma Biology: What’s Happening In The Body And How To Support Our Patients

This lecture explores the intricate physiological mechanisms underlying trauma and its impact on the human body. While it’s widely acknowledged that the body keeps the score when it comes to trauma, the specific processes involved remain less understood. This session aims to elucidate the body’s innate steps of the trauma response on the cellular and systemic levels.

We will differentiate between stress and trauma biology, providing health professionals with a comprehensive understanding of the body’s physiological trauma response. This knowledge will enable a more holistic, integrative approach to patient care.

Key focus areas include:

1. The cellular-level biology and physiology of trauma responses
2. Distinguishing between stress and trauma states
3. The crucial role of the vagus nerve in trauma response

We’ll explore how trauma response involves bypassing the sympathetic nervous system, signaling from the dorsal vagal nucleus, and the mediation of stress hormones. The Polyvagal Theory’s perspective on chronic health symptoms as protective responses to perceived threats will be discussed.

Additionally, we’ll examine the Cell Danger Response and its need for time, energy, and safety to return to homeostasis. This understanding will equip health professionals with valuable insights to better support their patients’ recovery and well-being.

Dr. Aimie is a Double Board-Certified Physician in Preventive Medicine and Addiction Medicine with a Masters degrees in both Biochemistry and Public Health. Founder of The Biology of Trauma lens, she specializes in a holistic integrative structured path to how the body experiences, holds and heals trauma. Her inspiration comes from adopting from the foster care system, running and a non-profit for other adoptive families and then her own health issues of chronic fatigue and autoimmunity that led her to her own healing journey.

Jamie Belz is a Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, Master Health Coach, public speaker, and Business Development Specialist for the Nutritional Therapy Association. She also hosts The Nutritional Therapy and Wellness Podcast. At home, Jamie and her husband are raising five holistically healthy children while navigating the added challenges of parenting in a world shaped by screens, stress, and the Standard American Diet.

With a background in marketing and public relations within a hospital setting, Jamie brings a unique, compassionate perspective to families managing chronic or complex medical conditions. Her experience working alongside practitioners in hospitals, clinics, and virtual practices has given her deep insights into both conventional and holistic approaches to care.

Jamie is passionate about empowering parents to support their children’s wellness through nutrition and lifestyle changes that complement medical treatments. She believes that small, intentional steps can reduce symptom burdens, improve quality of life, and restore a sense of hope. Her mission is to equip families with practical strategies that foster healing and build resilience, empowering parents to become confident advocates and essential partners in their children’s health journeys.

Supporting Self-Regulation in Children with ASD, ADHD, PANS/PANDAS, OCD & Anxiety: A Parent’s Guide

Navigating the challenges of raising children with clinical issues demands a deep understanding of self-regulation. This presentation equips parents with insights into recognizing both under and overstimulated behaviors indicative of dysregulation, and offers effective strategies for nurturing support.

By identifying the unique challenges faced by dysregulated children, we can provide the right intervention and support, which can lead to improved outcomes, including better social skills, learning outcomes, and emotional balance.

Our discussion will cover a range of practical interventions tailored for these specific conditions:
*Nutritional and Dietary Adjustments: Demonstrating how strategic dietary choices can positively impact brain function and emotional health.
*Physical Activity and Structured Routines: Highlighting the importance of regular exercise and predictable routines to enhance mood, reduce anxiety, and improve cognitive function.
*Brain-Based Therapies: Examining targeted therapies such as neurofeedback, PEMF and biofeedback, discussing their relevance and application.
*Psychotherapeutic Techniques: Detailing therapy modalities that foster emotional management and self-regulation skills.

Parents will be armed with the knowledge and strategies needed to facilitate their children’s path to improved self-regulation across all life facets. Participants will leave with a deep understanding of self-regulation challenges and a suite of interventions to foster mental well-being and life quality in neurodivergent children.

Coming Soon!

The Last Resort: What to do When Nothing Helps Your Child

Many parents feel helpless when their child faces chronic health issues, having tried every therapy and treatment without breakthrough and lasting success. In this presentation, Dr. Tony Ebel explores a vital, yet often overlooked, factor in healing: understanding the “healing hierarchy” and doing less, not more, but in the right order. Discover how focusing on “foundational neurology” first can unlock profound improvements and lead to optimal recovery. Join us as we dive into what could be the missing link to your child’s healing journey.

Science behind Autism – The Future of Diagnosis and Management

Autism is a behaviorally diagnosed disorder with unclear underlying etiology in which effective treatments are lacking. Neuroimaging, neurophysiology, genetic, molecular and metabolic studies have provided evidence for some of the basic pathophysiological mechanisms underlying autism. Other studies focusing on medical co-morbidities have highlighted the many organ system associated with autism suggesting that autism manifests as a multisystem disease in some patients. This evidence has started to provide an emerging picture of how biology drives behavior and has pointed to novel promising approaches to treatment.

Dr Frye is a Child Neurologist with expertise in neurodevelopmental and neurometabolic disorders. He received an MD and PhD in Physiology and Biophysics from Georgetown University. He completed a residency in Pediatrics at the University of Miami, Residency in Child Neurology and Fellowship in Behavioral Neurology and Learning Disabilities at Harvard University/Children’s Hospital Boston and Fellowship in Psychology at Boston University. He also received a Masters in Biomedical Science and Biostatistics from Drexel University. He holds board certifications in Pediatrics, and in Neurology with Special Competence in Child Neurology. He has authored over 300 publications and book chapters and serves on several editorial boards and is currently the Editor-in-Chief for the Section on Mechanisms of Diseases of the Journal of Personalized Medicine.

Plasmalogens and Advanced Brain Nutrition in Autism and Rare Childhood Diseases
The brain is not a “black box”. Much is known, but little is implemented. Whatever the peripheral cause (s) of autism may be (genetic or environmental), the proximate cause is always biochemical insufficiency. Using plasmalogens and advanced brain nutrition even the most severe terminal diseases of the brain can be reversed. Examples of reversals and recoveries in rare diseases and autism will be presented.

Dr. Dayan Goodenowe is a PhD neuroscientist, biochemist, synthetic organic chemist, inventor, and clinical research expert. In 1999, he invented and patented a revolutionary ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry technology that made it possible to monitor human biochemistry comprehensively for the first time in history.

Using this advanced technology, Dr. Goodenowe analyzed blood samples from tens of thousands of persons of all ages, of all races, and from multiple countries. The biochemistry of healthy persons was compared to persons suffering from disease. A diverse range of over 20 diseases, from autism to dementia and from colon cancer to heart disease, was studied. The biochemistry of young versus old and all-cause mortality was studied. This research led to his discovery that early mortality and each human disease has a biochemical prodrome.

LECTURE ABSTRACT: This lecture offers a detailed look at Lyme disease and other vector-borne illnesses, challenging prevalent myths, and clarifying issues with symptom identification and diagnostics. It connects Lyme induced immune dysfunction and inflammation to conditions like ASD, PANS, and PANDAS, while exploring the biological mechanisms of Lyme disease and the effectiveness of various herbs and supplements in treatment. This talk also highlights how infections and lifestyle choices impact susceptibility to illness, promoting a comprehensive treatment strategy that combines conventional and alternative methods, particularly for the pediatric population.

Dr. Myriah Hinchey, a Naturopathic physician and Fellow of the Medical Academy of Pediatric Special Needs (MAPS), is a recognized expert in the field of Lyme disease and other complex chronic inflammatory conditions, with over 17 years of specialized experience. As a physician and the Medical Director at TAO, an integrative center for healing, she has successfully guided thousands of patients towards recovery from their complex chronic inflammatory conditions. Additionally, she is the founder and owner of LymeCore Botanicals, a herbal medicine company focused on providing effective solutions for healing vector-borne diseases. Dr. Hinchey is dedicated to treating patients of all ages, with a specialty in pediatrics, and is also a sought-after speaker, passionately educating healthcare professionals on the pathophysiology of vector-borne diseases and how to successfully integrate functional, herbal, and lifestyle medicine into their practices.

LECTURE ABSTRACT: This presentation is designed to help parents understand the scientific rationale for herbal treatments of Lyme that are both cost effective and efficacious. The information will be presented in an easy-to-digest manner, and participants will leave the presentation with the knowledge of simple, safe, and effective treatment options to discuss with their practitioners.

Teresa is a Family Practice Physician Assistant and Owner of Victory Health. She is a fellow of the Medical Academy of Pediatric Special Needs and a Member of the International Society for Environmentally Acquired Illness as well as a Former Assistant Professor of Medicine. She has a Master’s in Rural Primary Care Medicine and has completed Doctoral Coursework in environmental health and medical writing. She is the author of CARDIOLOGY ESSENTIALS, HOLLER FOR YOUR HEALTH, and ON MEDICINE AND MIRACLES. Teresa has been a speaker for the American Academy of Physician Assistants, North Carolina Integrative Medicine Society, Medical Academy for Pediatric Special Needs, LymeBytes, the Virginia Academy of Physician Assistants, and more. She has been featured on NPR, FOX TV, Good Morning Arizona, The Dr Jill Show, Advance for Physician Assistants, and more.

Her website is TeresaHoller.com

Blending Motor Planning and Neurodevelopmental Optometry to Access Communication
Our movements rely heavily on our vision and ocular motor control, yet vision is often overlooked as an integral part of successful motor function. Vision gives information about our body position in space and feedback to refine movement accuracy. It enables us to react to changing environments and adapt on the fly. Several studies have outlined the ocular motor and vision differences among the autistic population (Caldani, et al., 2019, Schmitt et al., 2014), however, interventions targeting both vision and motor planning to support volitional movement and communication are limited. This presentation will follow a case study of one nonspeaking patient who was assessed by neurodevelopmental optometry and participated in both a vision therapy protocol and a functional movement-based program to support communication using the Spellers Method. The discussion will highlight the individual differences seen in autistic patients to warrant a functional-based movement and neurodevelopmental vision program.

Understanding Sensory Motor Differences and the Impact of Neurological “Noise”

Recent research on autism and other motor disorders points to neurological “noise” that impacts efficient and purposeful movement in the population. These differences result in a disconnect between the brain and the body triggering the sympathetic nervous system and causing prolonged fight-or-flight responses. This presentation will discuss the current research on motor differences in autism including the sympathetic and parasympathetic responses to stress and how it applies to the nonspeaking and unreliably speaking autistic population. Specific ways to support the brain and body disconnect, regulation, and how to build purposeful motor skills including communication will be discussed. Nonspeakers who have contributed to the growing body of knowledge on motor differences and regulation will also be highlighted.

Dr. Dana Johnson, PhD, MS, OTR/L, is the Founder of Spellers Center, Tampa; Founder of Invictus Academy, Tampa Bay; and co-founder of the Spellers MethodTM. Dr. Johnson has a Master’s degree in Occupational Therapy, and a Ph.D in Child and Adolescent Mental Health and Development. She is a producer of the award-winning documentary, SPELLERS, an executive producer of UNDERESTIMATED: The Heroic Rise of Nonspeaking Spellers, and co-author of The Spellers Guidebook: Practical Advice for Parents and Students. Dr. Johnson has worked with individuals with motor and sensory differences for almost 20 years and currently specializes in supporting nonspeaking, unreliably speaking, and minimally speaking individuals to utilize spelling and typing as a form of communication. Dr. Johnson started her career as an occupational therapist supporting children in the public school system, then moved to private practice working with individuals with autism, apraxia, and other sensory-motor differences. You can learn more about her at www.spellers.com

Brianna Ladapo is an intuitive spiritual healer, integrative health coach, and certified Naturopath. She has a master’s degree in English from Harvard University and is currently pursuing her doctorate in naturopathic medicine. She has also studied holistic and integrative health, plant medicine, and energy medicine. She lives in Florida with her husband and three boys, where she has a trauma counseling practice and works with nonprofit organizations to heal trafficked and exploited children.

LECTURE ABSTRACT CASE STUDIES: Demystifying PANS & More: Learning Through Case Studies

PANS & PANDAS are complex autoimmune diseases that require a multi-system approach. PANDAS (Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Strep) involves antibodies from a strep infection reacting with brain tissue (specifically the basal ganglia in the brain) and triggering an abrupt onset of immune dysregulation and movement, learning and behavioral problems including OCD, anxiety and tics. With PANS (Pediatric Acute-Onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome), other infectious etiologies besides strep (yeast, viruses, other bacteria, parasites), toxic exposures, and metabolic abnormalities are among other potential triggers for the immune dysregulation resulting in an abnormal autoimmune reaction and negative behavior, physical, and cognitive changes. Dr. O’Hara will discuss the latest research in the assessment and treatment of these devastating but recoverable illnesses in the context of several illustrative case studies.  Participants will learn the research-based functional medicine approach to the care, diagnosis and treatment of these children.

LECTURE ABSTRACT PARENT TRACK: Demystifying PANS/PANDAS: Assessment and Treatment Specifics for Parents

PANS & PANDAS are complex autoimmune diseases that require a multi-system approach. PANDAS (Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Strep) involves antibodies from a strep infection reacting with brain tissue (specifically the basal ganglia) and triggering immune dysregulation and movement, learning and behavioral problems including OCD, anxiety and tics. With PANS (Pediatric Acute-Onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome), other infectious etiologies (especially Borrelia, Bartonella and Babesia as well as COVID, viruses, & more), toxic exposures, and mold are among other potential triggers. Dr. O’Hara discusses the assessment and treatment of these devastating but recoverable illnesses in our children.

Dr. Nancy O’Hara is a board certified Pediatrician. Prior to her medical career, Dr. O’Hara taught children with autism. She graduated with highest honors from Bryn Mawr College and as a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. She earned a Master’s degree in Public Health from the University of Pittsburgh. After residency, chief residency and general pediatric fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh, Dr. O’ Hara entered general private practice in 1993, and in 1998 began her consultative, integrative practice solely for children with special needs. Since 1999 she has dedicated her functional medicine practice to the integrative and holistic care of children with chronic illness and neurodevelopmental disorders such as ADHD, PANDAS/PANS, OCD, Lyme and ASD. She is also a leader in the training of clinicians, both in the United States and abroad. Dr. O’Hara has written a comprehensive guidebook, “Demystifying PANS / PANDAS: A Functional Medicine Desktop Reference on Basal Ganglia Encephalitis”, which is available on Amazon in e-book or soft-cover formats. For more information on her membership and mentoring program, please visit www.drohara.com. Additionally, Dr. O’Hara’s research on Folate Receptor Auto Antibodies and PANS/PANDAS was recently published. (https://doi.org/10.3390/jpm14020166)

Making our Children Well: Empowering Parents to Raise Healthy Children with Homeopathy and Nutrition

Homeopathic and nutritional tips are featured in this parent empowerment talk. The focus will be on common missteps that occur while raising children with special needs and how to correct/redirect them back to health using homeopathy and tools found in the kitchen. Dr. Perro’s favorite tricks of the trade for picky eaters/challenged kids as a give-away preview from her upcoming next book, Making our Children Well: Empowering Parents with Homeopathy and Nutrition!

Michelle Perro, MD is a veteran clinician with over four decades of experience in both pediatrics as well as in integrative medicine treating both children and their families. Her career began in Pediatric Emergency Medicine winding its way into integrative medicine over the past 25 years. She has been director of a Pediatric Emergency Department in NYC and spent over a decade at UCSF Benioff Oakland Children’s Hospital. Dr. Perro has been a tireless advocate regarding the role of GM food and their associated pesticides centered on their affect on children’s health. She is co-author of the highly acclaimed book, “What’s Making our Children Sick?” . She is the CEO and co-founder of the website www.gmoscience.org. Her monthly podcast, The New MDS can be found here: https://gmoscience.org/the-new-mds/. For parents Advice, visit: https://gmoscience.org/parent-education/. Her next book, “Making our Children Well” is scheduled to be released at the end of 2024.

Microbe Dormancy: A plausible explanation for why chronic Lyme disease, and related illnesses are so hard to treat

Chronic Lyme disease and similar chronic illnesses (including PANDAS) are notoriously refractory to treatment with antibiotics and a range of other therapies. For chronic Lyme disease, biofilms are an often cited reservoir of bacteria that resist treatment, but biofilms don’t explain the symptomatology of chronic Lyme disease and similar illnesses. Intracellular dormancy is an often overlooked reservoir of bacteria and other microbes that aren’t affected by the immune system and are completely resistant to antibiotics. This lecture explores intracellular dormancy as a mechanism of persistence for the Lyme bacteria, coinfections, and beyond. The content provides a preview to potential treatment strategies. 

The human body is made of cells. The health of the body is directly related to the collective health of the cells that make up the body. When cells are stressed or injured, symptoms occur. Symptoms become chronic when cellular stress is chronic, the two are directly related. Medical therapies often fall short for treating chronic illnesses because medications treat manifestations of chronic illnesses, but do not address underlying cellular stress. This also applies to treatment of chronic Lyme disease and similar illnesses (including PANDAS) with antibiotics, because antibiotic therapy does not eradicate dormant intracellular bacteria and other microbes. This lecture explores why herbal therapy is uniquely positioned to address all aspects of cellular stress, which promotes actual healing in the body. 

Bill Rawls, MD, graduated from Bowman Gray School of Medicine at Wake Forest University in 1985. He holds his medical license in North Carolina.

Dr. Rawls has written extensively on health topics, including Lyme disease, fibromyalgia, and Chronic Immune Dysfunction. He’s the author of Suffered Long Enough and Unlocking Lyme, and has contributed to various health sites.

Aside from his writing, Dr. Rawls serves as Medical Director for Vital Plan, an herbal supplement and wellness company he co-founded with his daughter, Braden.

Luminara Serdar is an autism transformation expert, helping parents discover and address the root causes of their child’s challenging autism behaviors so that a child can be calm, happy, develop to peer level and gain independence. And so parents can feel competent, empowered and happy.

She’s trained as a scientist in genetics, cell biology and biochemistry, as a functional nutritionist and holistic healer.

She works with clients throughout the world using nutrition, opening body systems and removing toxic buildup to help shift autism behaviors.

Elisa Song, MD, is a Stanford-, NYU-, UCSF-trained integrative pediatrician and pediatric functional medicine expert, and most importantly, a mother to two thriving children. She has dedicated her career to helping parents and practitioners bridge the gap between conventional and holistic pediatrics with an evidence-based, pediatrician-backed, parent-approved approach. Dr. Song has lectured around the world at leading integrative and functional medicine conferences and premier parenting events. She has also been featured in hundreds of top podcasts, print and online media outlets including Dr. Mark Hyman’s Broken Brain podcast, the Wellness Mama podcast, BloomTV, Forbes, Healthline, MindBodyGreen, National Geographic, PopSugar, Parents, Motherly, Parade, Verywell Health, and New York Post.

The Extracellular Matrix, Critical for Neuronal Connectivity, Is Broken Down by the Enzyme Metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) in the Brain of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), but can be inhibited by the Flavonoid Luteolin

LECTURE ABSTRACT: Brain extracellular matrix in critical for neuronal communication.
Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) is an enzyme that breaks down the matrix and disrupts neuronal communication.

MMP-9 is elevated in the brains of children with ASD and is released from microglia.
Luteolin inhibits the release of MMP-9 from cultured human microglia activated by either bacterial polysaccharide (LPS), the mycotoxin Ochratoxin A or the stress peptide neurotensin.

Dr. Theoharides, is Professor and Vice Chair of Clinical Immunology and Director, Institute for Neuro-Immune Medicine-Clearwater, Nova Southeastern University, FL and Adjunct Professor of Immunology, Tufts School of Medicine where he was Professor and Director of Molecular Immunopharmacology & Drug Discovery, and Clinical Pharmacologist, Massachusetts Drug Formulary Commission (1983-2022). He served on the Board of the Institute of Pharmaceutical Research and Technology (IFET) and the Supreme Health Council of the Ministry of Health in Greece. He received his BA, MS, MPhil, PhD and MD degrees and the Winternitz Price in Pathology from Yale University. He also received a Certificate in Global Leadership from Tufts Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and a Fellowship at Harvard Kennedy School of Government. He trained in internal medicine at New England Medical Center which awarded him the Oliver Smith Award “recognizing excellence, compassion and service.” He received the Tufts Distinguished Faculty Recognition and Excellence in Teaching awards multiple times. He showed that the unique tissue immune cells, mast cells, communicate with the brain microglia and are critical for neuroinflammation. He has 493 publications (48,375 citations; h-index 112 placing him in the world’s top 0.05% of most cited authors and the worldwide expert on mast cells by ScholarGPS and Expertscape. He was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha National Medical Honor Society, the Rare Diseases Hall of Fame and the World Academy of Sciences. He developed novel dietary flavonoid supplements formulated in olive pomace oil to increase absorption. He has received 30 patents and trademarks (www.mastcellmaster.com; www.drtheoharides.com)